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'Grayskull' lands new writer

Rookie scribe Evan Daugherty comes aboard He-Man project

Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures have tapped newcomer Evan Daugherty to pen the latest draft of "Grayskull," the studio's big-screen take on Mattel's "Masters of the Universe" cartoon and toy line.

John Stevenson ("Kung Fu Panda") is attached to direct the adaptation of the show, which followed a blond warrior named Prince Adam who, when uttering the magic words, "By the power of Grayskull -- I have the power," turned into the heroic He-Man. He and his allies -- Battle Cat, Man-at-Arms and Orko -- defended their planet Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor, who tried week after week to conquer the fortress Castle Grayskull, which imbued He-Man with his powers.

Warners sees the big-screen version as a gritty fantasy and reimagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia. There, Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic.

Justin Marks penned the previous draft.

Landing "Grayskull" is a huge coup for Daugherty, whose only writing credit is the unproduced screenplay "Shrapnel." Daugherty wrote the script -- a character-driven psychological thriller about two mortal enemies on a hunting trip to the death -- to earn an NYU film-school grant. He was living at his parents' home at the time and paying bills by doing freelance video editing.

Daugherty didn't get the grant but entered an obscure screenwriting contest called Script Pimp, where he caught the attention of Jake Wagner of management firm Energy Entertainment. The script made the Hollywood rounds and landed on the Black List, while Daugherty moved to Los Angeles to pursue his writing career.